Polyethylene is used in packaging and disposable service ware associated with the food packaging and fast-food service markets. In these applications, it can be desirable to provide the polyethylene as a composition which is photodegradable.
The current emphasis on ecology and, in particular, the disposal of bulk rubbish, is in part directed to coping with the tremendous increases in the use of plastic containers and plastic films for packaging foodstuffs, and containing garbage and the like which not only present a serious disposal problem but increase unslightly litter in picnic areas, on roadsides and the like.
It is generally recognized that certain polyolefins such as polypropylene and polyethylene are photodegradable when exposed to ultraviolet light. Nevertheless, unlike steel containers which will rust away relatively rapidly, the actual decomposition of polyolefins is relatively slow and hence despite some discoloration and/or embrittlement when exposed to sunlight these plastic materials tend to remain substantially intact for relatively long periods of time.